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NEWS

• Viatical Settlement -- Terminal illness of emotionally devastating enough without the complications of sorting out fianances. Some people sell their life insurance policies to get money to pay the bills. It's a new twist on insurance with the unusual name of "viatical settlement" (viatical means "of or relating to traveling, a road, or a way"). Viatical-settlement companies may pay 60% of the face value of a policy to a person with a life expectancy of two years or less, 80% to one whose expectancy is six months or less. Going this route as a way to handle medical bills and other expenses has legal, fiancial and tax repercussions. It's wise to shop around and contact two or three viatical companies. To help, the FTC offers an eight-page booklet called "Viatical Settlements: A Guide for People With Terminal Illnesses." If you would like a free copy, send a postcard to: Viatical Settlements, Federal Trade Commission, Box P-Room 403, Washington, D.C. 20580-0001. Or you may access the brochure on the Internet at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/viatical.htm.

• Most companies will give you free copies of their annual reports if you ask. Using the Public Register's Annual Report Service, you can get free reports in about a week from about 3,000 firms. Call (800) 426-6825 or check the website www.prars.com/

• A survey by Boston based research group Dalbar, Inc. found that almost 25 percent of U.S. investors who have a financial adviser distrust the advice they are getting. The main reason is high commissions charged by financial advisors, according to a poll of 2,356 respondents.